Last Chance by Michelle O'Leary

Trapped in the criminal mega-corporation, Quasicore, Del tries to escape only to become entangled with the dazzling, dangerous Shays. Sinsudee Shay’s offer of protection and employment seems too good to be true. He has to find out if Shay Enterprises is a rival of the Core or a partner in crime.

Sin needs a pilot for her courier service. Rescuing Del from the Core is an added bonus, but he’s more than she bargained for. She’s too drawn to her new employee who’s intuitive enough to question her motives. He could ruin her and her brother’s plans.

Del’s wild attraction for the enigmatic Sin Shay only complicates matters. He can’t resist her lethal beauty, even as he fears the worst about their company. Is Sin’s offer of a new life his last chance for redemption or just another version of hell?

They were down to the last two pilots when the hum of slicer engines caught Del’s attention. Very powerful, very expensive slicer engines, the hum almost subliminal. The hair rose on his arms and the back of his neck, and he glanced over. Two sleek, black slicers coasted toward them, and Del fell in love. The ships made his red beauty look like a lump of used metal. Piloting one of those would be like having sex with a goddess, all smooth, profound ecstasy. Their black surface reflected the light in opalescent gleams as they settled in perfect synchronicity onto the landing pads.

“Oh Sun’s blood, the Shadow twins!” Hector moaned next to him.

Del’s grungy companion now wore beads of sweat across his forehead and upper lip, eyes wide and bulging. Others reacted to the arrivals with whitened faces, worshipful eyes, and muted whispers. A new, greedier current of energy ran through the crowd, and Del watched for the two pilots with increased interest.

The new arrivals levered themselves out of the sleek slicers with liquid ease. One male and one female, they were dressed in unrelenting black. They had an air of unconscious arrogance only the rich and powerful could manage, with a hint of real danger in their fluid strides. They moved like predators coming into view of their prey, and the crowd parted before them as if they knew they were the next meal.

As they neared, Del sucked in a startled breath. The arrivals were stunningly attractive, good-looking enough to turn heads wherever they went. Blue-black hair framed refined features, hers in a severe braid between her shoulder blades, and his in short disarray over his forehead. The man’s features were heavier and his skin had a dusky quality. The woman had skin like smooth cream and a lush curve to her lips.

Del was staring at her mouth when she entered the circle around Hector and the pilots. Her lips curled in a sardonic twist and he lifted his gaze, colliding with the most beautiful pair of green eyes he’d ever seen.

“Sun’s blood,” he muttered.

“Don’t do it, man. She’s poison,” Hector whispered as the two arrivals stopped and scanned the circle with casual propriety.

When the woman’s gaze came to rest on Hector, she smiled like a shark, all sharp edges and bloodlust. “Hector, my slimy friend! You don’t look happy to see me.” Her voice was smooth, cool, and laced with dangerous humor. She stepped forward, her companion staying where he was, arms folded across his chest and faint amusement on his features.

Eyes bright with something like malice, she paused in front of Hector. “How’s the hand?”

Del had never seen anyone quail before. Hector’s shoulders hunched as he tucked his hands into his armpits in a protective gesture. Whatever had happened to Hector’s hand, Del would lay odds this woman had either done the work herself or been responsible for it.

“Fine, fine,” Hec rasped. “Healed up real good.”

“And aren’t we relieved to hear it,” she drawled with biting insincerity. “You appear to be running an illegal slicer race, Hector. Can it be possible?”

“You know it is,” he snarled, shooting pure hate at her from under his eyebrows.